Deadwax inscription ID's needed

hope this comes out!

later, chris

 

If your camera has Mirror Lock-up you can use that and not do a flash. Set it on a tripod with a long exposure.

Pat

 

This has to be my favorite thread in ages. The macro photos are beautiful - makes me want to buy a macro lens. I spend so much time looking at deadwax in record stores, and straining to see the little markings, that its a revelation to see them presented in such pristine images. I hope to learn lots from this thread.

 

I'll keep shooting more but it would be great if we had a page here on the site where we could put them in a "gallery" format for people to browse easily and figure out who all these folks are. Caption info with these images would a very valuable resource.

 

I made a similar suggestion (at the time, it was images of record labels). Hopefully this sort of functionality will be added at some point, as it'd be really handy. We could always have a Flickr Deadwax group in the meantime, but it'd be better to have it integrated.

 

I'm with those guys - there should be a dedicated, browsable index of these things! It'd also be nice if folks would note whether or not the signatures are a sign of quality or not (for instance, I'd buy anything with Wally's name on it).

 

and Motorhead!

 

This is actually a french horn or similar instrument.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:French_horn_front.png

I used to think it was a balloon or "Q." But I've found a (very) few pressings that show the logo with much more detail.

Is this the same pressing plant that used to press A&M records - there was a trumpet or cornet in the deadwax? Just guessing.

 

um, no- it actually is a stylized lowercase 'A' (for Allied) with the Warner Communications stylized 'W' logo inside. One could mistake the combination for a French horn and its convolutions.

-Aaron

 

Here is another Utopia logo taken from my Steve Hackett Bay Of Kings LP made in England.

The photo is not the greatest but you should be able to make it out.

Pat

 

.. and Judas Priest!

 

I have both a 1976 CBS 'Stirling' pressing of Kansas' 'Leftoverture' and an 1977 ABC pressing of Steely Dan's 'Aja' with what looks like a British flag in the deadwax though they are US pressings. Does anyone know what this inscription signifies?

 

I may be mistaken on this, but it would appear the Union Jack stamping in the deadwax may signify a pressing by Keel Mfg. in Hauppauge, NY (the future Hauppauge Record Mfg.). I've seen similar U.S. pressings with that stamped Union Jack from that same or similar time period of which you speak. Probably a few Pickwicks as well.

 

So, we know that more than just Bob worked at Masterdisk - can someone tell me who else might've signed a Masterdisk pressing, and whether their work is worth tracking down?

I'm currently trying to identify "OR" at Masterdisk. He did my copy of Boston's "Third Stage."

 

There were two others I know of that worked at Masterdisk who likewise signed their work - Gilbert Kong ("G.K." or "G. KONG"), a holdover from the disc mastering outfit's days as the mastering division of Mercury Records; and Howie Weinberg ("HW"). I must emphasize, however, Masterdisk wasn't a pressing plant - just the studio where some lacquers were cut.

 

I have also seen

TJ

and

BK - I beleive this is Brian Kipper?

 

Bill Kipper

 

So, I was checking out my copy of Superman The Movie yesterday - all four sides have "Arnie" in neat italic handwriting. Would this be Arnie Acosta? It's a WB record, and I know he worked there at one point...

 

Yep. He signed 'ARNIE' or a closely spaced 'AA' (sometimes looks like an 'M' with a line thru it) on his A&M cuttings as well.

-Aaron

 

...and the TJ, if I'm not mistaken, is Ted Jensen

ccm

 

And another bump, because for some reason, this subject fascinates me. I just picked up a copy of the B-52's Cosmic Thing, mastered by Bob Ludwig. There's no RL in the deadwax, though, so one can assume he didn't cut it, but something in the deadwax DOES confuse me: I see both a "Masterdisc" stamp AND a Specialty stamp (the big S with the two little letters inside it). Now, I thought Masterdisk and Specialty were mutually exclusive, so why would they both be on the same side of a disc?

 

Masterdisk was a firm which cut lacquers; Specialty was the plant that pressed this particular copy.

 

Ah, gotcha. That chain of command always confuses the hell outta me.

 

I noticed "Gene" on my Apple/Capitol "All Things Must Pass". Unfortunately I do not own a camera. Thanks for identifying him.

 

This is true. My copy of 'Killing Machine' was mastered at Utopia.